responsibilities of the assistant principal in the elementary schools of Dade County Public School System as perceived by teachers, principals, and other assistant principals

The purpose of this study was to determine the actual job responsibilities of the assistant principal in the elementary school of Dade County Public School System as perceived by the teachers, principals, and assistant principals employed in the elementary schools of Dade County, Florida. After a review of literature, a questionnaire was developed by the author which was based on the writings by authorities in the field of elementary school administration and other areas of education. The questionnaire encompassed the Florida Principal Competencies and the Dade County Performance Appraisal. Data were obtained from the sixty-item questionnaire with a Likert-type scale for the participants to indicate their perception as to the level of importance each item had to the responsibilities of the assistant principals. These perceptions, of the teachers and the principals, the teachers and the assistant principals; and the principals and the assistant principals were compared. The hypotheses tested were (1) no significant differences existed in perceptions of the assistant principal's responsibilities as perceived by teachers and principals, (2) no significant differences existed in perceptions of the assistant principal's responsibilities as perceived by teachers and assistant principals, and (3) no significant differences existed in perceptions of the assistant principals and principals. A Chi-Square analysis of responses was used to determine significant relationships in each of the comparisons. The questionnaire was mailed to all 180 elementary schools in Dade County. One hundred eighty-seven teachers, eighty-six principals, and 117 assistant principals responded to the questionnaire, making a total of 390 or 54 percent. Findings of the study suggest that there were significant differences in the perceptions of the responsibilities of the assistant principal presented in the research and that attention should be given to these issues by those who write the job description and structure the job responsibilities. Perceptions of the job by the person performing the job as well as those related to the job impact how the activities are carried out and how the job performance contributes to the total school program.